Thursday, April 08, 2010

Poetry Tag: Joyce Sidman is IT

Next up in our game of Poetry Tag isJoyce Sidman. She connects with yesterday’s poem by April Halprin Wayland and writes, “I LOVED April's poem for its evocative sense both of wide open sky and the closeness of snuggling in a car with people you love. So, I am choosing a poem from BUTTERFLY EYES called ‘Always Together’, which is about goldfinches, who flock together the year 'round. In this grey time of year they cheer my heart!" Here’s the page right out of the book, shared with permission of the poet and the publisher.

From: Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow by Joyce Sidman. Illustrated by Beth Krommes. Used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Copyright (c) 2006 by Joyce Sidman. All rights reserved.

Five fun facts about Joyce Sidman*she’s a middle sister of three sisters*she has a degree in German*she started writing poetry in high school, encouraged by a sympathetic teacher*she has a free poem bookmark on her Web site*she loves dogs (and the world of nature altogether)[Taken from Poetry People; A Practical Guide to Children’s Poets]

Look for these selected poetry books Sidman:*Eureka! Poems about Inventors (Millbrook, 2002)*Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems (Houghton Mifflin, 2005)*Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)*Meow Ruff: A Story in Concrete Poetry (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)*This is Just to Say (Houghton Mifflin, 2007)*Red Sings From Treetops; A Year in Colors (Houghton Mifflin, 2009)*Ubiquitous; Celebrating Nature's Survivors (Houghton Mifflin, 2010)*Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night (Houghton Mifflin, 2010)

5 comments:

May I just say that I LOVE this game of tag and look forward every morning to reading the playful contribution by the "it" of the day. For someone who was never know for grace or coordination, this is great fun! B-)

One of my favorites as well. Plus, I can't say enough how much I love Red Sings From Treetops. It's a wonderful companion to an old favorite: Hailstones and Halibut bones. I aspire to write poetry like Joyce's wonderful gems!

About Me

Sylvia Vardell is a professor and author of the ALA bestseller POETRY ALOUD HERE, also THE POETRY TEACHER'S BOOK OF LISTS, POETRY PEOPLE, CHILDREN'S LITERATURE IN ACTION, and the co-editor of THE POETRY FRIDAY ANTHOLOGY series and the POETRY FRIDAY POWER BOOK series in collaboration with poet Janet Wong. Vardell is also the poetry columnist for ALA’s BOOK LINKS magazine and for the NSTA journal, SCIENCE AND CHILDREN (along with Janet Wong). A frequent speaker at conferences, Vardell chaired the NCTE Poetry Award committee, served as a judge for the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, and has been a consultant to the Poetry Foundation.